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The Nevada State Athletic Commission has declined to medically clear the jiu-jitsu player turned MMA fighter to compete at next month's UFC 167 event after an out-of-competition drug test revealed an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio.

Drysdale (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who was scheduled to meet light heavyweight Cody Donovan (8-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the Nov. 16 event's first preliminary-card bout, was flagged with a 19.4-1 T/E ratio, which is more than three times the NSAC's 6-1 limit. He tested negative for a variety of steroids.

NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer today confirmed the abnormal result with MMAjunkie.com and added that as of yet, Drysdale is not suspended or fined as the result of the failed test.

Both Drysdale and UFC officials were unreachable for comment at the time of this writing.

UFC 167 takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event's main card airs live on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.com.

Drysdale's history with TRT could play a part in whether he faces any additional punishment. Less than a month before his scheduled UFC debut at UFC 163 against Ednaldo Oliveira earlier this year, he submitted paperwork to obtain a therapeutic-use exemption (TUE) to undergo testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), according to documents MMAjunkie.com obtained through a public records request.

On his application, which is dated July 8, 2013, the 32-year-old Drysdale stated the TUE request was his first. He certified that he hadn't used or was currently using banned substances and had no previous positive tests. Also included in the paperwork was a letter from a Las Vegas-based anti-aging clinic, TrimBody M.D., that stated Drysdale was taking weekly testosterone injections at the clinic to treat hypogonadism.

Additionally, a blood exam from Clinical Pathology Laboratories showed Drysdale had a free testosterone level of 156 ng/mL, which was below the testing facility's normal range of 292 ng/mL to 1052 ng/mL. He was within the laboratory's normal range for follicle-stimulating hormone (6.0 mIU/mL) and luteinizing hormone (2.1 mIU/mL).

Taken together, the levels are important determining factors in the diagnosis of primary or secondary hypogonadism, a condition in which the body fails to produce normal levels of testosterone. They also play a significant part in deciding whether an athlete is cleared for an exemption.

Despite filing TUE paperwork, Drysdale did not receive an exemption, according to Kizer. On July 16, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Drysdale withdrew from UFC 163, which took place Aug. 3 in Rio de Janeiro and was overseen by the Brazilian Athletic Commission, due to a staph infection.

After a decorated career in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which included a gold medal in the 2007 Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championship, Drysdale transitioned to MMA and made his professional debut in 2010. He amassed a record of 6-0 before drawing a contract offer from the UFC, which signed him to fight at UFC 163.

It's a rhetorical question, but why do all these top athletes and alpha males suffer from hypogonadism? I wonder if they feel they have to do it in order to keep up with the competition, considering how many fighters have stated the majority is on something.

I have low T and to be honest it does not affect my daily life. Then again my daily life is sitting at a computer working. When I play with my sons I don't ever get tired or feel like I don't have enough energy. And by Low T I mean low, low enough that I am borderline TRT recommendation.

I have to imagine for guys who run through their peek fitness everyday that it is life affecting. Being slightly lower than normal could probably affect you over both the short and long term.

My honest opinion though? Competitive people will do ANYTHING for a competitive edge. While I believe there are a few guys who suffer from this and need TRT, my honest belief is that majority are gaming the system for any edge they can get.

Well, low testosterone is typical in men that are older, has a high amount of body fat and low amount of exercise.

The contrary is elite athletes with muscular bodies below age of 40.

Did you just call me fat?

Seriously though you are correct. The first thing the doctor ordered me to do was lose some weight to see if that resolved it. I have lost over 50 pounds and now weight 175lbs at 5'8, not ideal but within an acceptable range and my T didn't change. My doc tells me he sees this all the time in older men who are reporting problems having children and often times losing some weight and increasing exercise tends to resolve the issue.

Seems ideal to me. I'm 5'10" and go between 175-180 now, but I'm fairly lean and go to the gym regularly. Can't imagine our body types could be that drastically different.

I agree about some athletes willing to do anything for a competitive edge. It's kind of sad in a way. I'm all supplement free and it makes me feel that much more accomplished when making it to the next level.

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I have low T and to be honest it does not affect my daily life. Then again my daily life is sitting at a computer working. When I play with my sons I don't ever get tired or feel like I don't have enough energy. And by Low T I mean low, low enough that I am borderline TRT recommendation.

I have to imagine for guys who run through their peek fitness everyday that it is life affecting. Being slightly lower than normal could probably affect you over both the short and long term.

My honest opinion though? Competitive people will do ANYTHING for a competitive edge. While I believe there are a few guys who suffer from this and need TRT, my honest belief is that majority are gaming the system for any edge they can get.

You say it doesnt affect you and it probably doesnt but you may not even know its affecting you unless you tried TRT. I mean you may not even know what your missing or that your energy level would be way higher think of when you were in highschool.

You say it doesnt affect you and it probably doesnt but you may not even know its affecting you unless you tried TRT. I mean you may not even know what your missing or that your energy level would be way higher think of when you were in highschool.

Very true, and a solid argument. I do sometimes wonder if I had this when I was younger as it always took me a significant amount of time for my growth spurts and for muscle development, but energy was never a problem. My parents wanted me to have less of it as it was, and my wife enjoys the fact that I can run the boys out so they go to sleep at night.

I have thought about treatment and while TRT is a possible candidate, the other is basically a steroid cream you rub on your junk. I have been thinking about going to the gym to try and keep healthy so I can keep running with my boys, so why not? Maybe it will give me a Vitor like revitalization?

You know your testosterone levels are abnormally high when you piss in a test tube and the test tube promptly grows a moustache, smokes cigars and demands to know what kind of scotch you have. Such is the case with jiu-jitsu stud Robert Drysdale, who’s 6-0 as a pro and was set to make his Octagon debut at UFC 167 – that is, until the urine sample he submitted to the Nevada State Athletic Commission began watching old Lee Marvin movies and talking about “picking up some whores on the Strip.”

To put things into perspective, a normal urine sample looks like this:

In contrast, the urine sample Drysdale submitted looked like this:

Neither Drysdale nor the UFC have commented. However, when reached by phone, the urine sample called me a “son of bitch” and hung up.